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For me, it's honesty, experience/skill, and good price.
The shop I bring my car to is all three. I brought my car to them a couple times to have stuff replaced that I thought it needed, and they called me later to say some of the items were either fine as is or they recommended delaying the work for one reason or another. If I ask a shop to do some work and they come back and explain why it's an unneeded expense, that tells me they're looking out for me. They earn my trust that way. If they also charge fairly and do good work, they earn my continued business. If they have these three items covered, the other considerations are not important.
I do have an opinion on shop cleanliness as a factor, however. When I bought my car last year, the previous owner left a big stack of all the service receipts in the glovebox, and they all were from the same shop covering the 18 years since the car was new. So, after I bought it I decided to drive by the place and see what it was that made him so loyal. I got there, and the place was in a not-so-good neighborhood (though centrally located and convenient), it had absolutely no parking except two painted boxes on the sidewalk, and the shop front as well as counter area were ugly and cluttered up with stacks of newspapers, old boxes, and lot of old junk parts everywhere. After a close look I kept right on going, convinced to start taking the car elsewhere - some place that had an upscale, comfortable atmosphere. I took it to a dealer (oops, won't do that again with an older car). But then I realized my attitude was prejudiced and I was judging the book by its cover, and I decided to give them a chance. The experience has been a real eye-opener, and bottom line is that after two visits, I don't want to take my car anywhere else.
Point is, though, the outward appearance of the shop can make or break you with regard to prospective new clients. If they're not comfortable bringing the car in the first time, all the skill and honesty in the world won't mean a thing. That said, I don't want a shop with shiny white floors and mechanics wearing clean white overalls.
From my description, I'm sure you know which shop I'm talking about.
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